a seven year secret

At 8 months old Julianna was already a big fan of her panda bear, Jing Jing.

One day that summer the three of us walked past a shop window (in an airport of all places) and there, staring back at us, was another Jing Jing.  Matt thought it'd be wise to pick up a second bear, seeing as how baby daughter was a panda fan and we could see a blossoming friendship.

Matt named the second panda "stunt double", and over the years the two have switched places so often that we've lost track of which was the original.  I'm telling ya, a stunt double comes in handy when we're talking about the "will not fall asleep without this panda" type of bear.

Well, once it was clear Lydia was a bunny lover (hers is named Carolina) we opted to purchase a bunny stunt double.

By the time Isaac arrived we were fully committed to the stunt double concept, and bought him two tigers before he was even born.

And Isaac is, by far, the most committed animal lover of the three.  John Paul arrived a bit late to foster this sort of attachment.  And Luke, oh sweet Luke, we'd love for him to have some sort of comfort system or self-soothing mechanism, but that doesn't seem to be his first choice.

Well in the almost seven years since the first stunt double entered the apartment, the secret's been kept.  None of the kids knew there was a second option.  I switched them seamlessly - often gathering one up in the puke covered blankets and tossing into the washer, then grabbing the stunt double and handing him to the newly-cleaned up kiddo before sending them back to bed.  We arrived home from trips and tossed the well-traveled animals into the wash and pulled out fresh ones.  On really long trips (think months-long deals) we travel with the doubles in the bottom of the duffel bag.  Who wants to realize that somebody's favorite friend got left in the seat back pocket on the last flight? 

A week or so ago Bei Bei (Isaac's tiger) was missing and after a half-hearted search I succumbed to weary-momma-syndrome, went straight for the double, tucked Isaac into bed and declared victory.

And then I totally forgot that another Bei Bei was still roaming the house.

He showed up today.  And Isaac was thrilled.  "I have TWO Bei Beis!!!!!!"  It was like a birthday, only better.  He loved every bit - I told him how there were actually two from the very beginning, and I'd been switching them over and over again.  Isaac could NOT stop grinning.

And he broke the news to the girls.  "Two Bei Beis?????"  Shocked faces.  And the inevitable: "Is there another Jing Jing too?"

They all came tumbling out.

Julianna showed me that hers were truly different - and she's right, one is a bit bigger and has a black tail (the panda she claims is the best, and the original, has a white tail).  After a half hour she put the 'other' Jing Jing on my bed and asked that I keep him in case something happens to the 'real' one.  She's definitely growing past her attachment, and the panda is no longer a must have at sleep overs, or even in her own bed. 

Lydia's two bunnies are slightly different shades of pink - honestly at this point they both look mostly pinkish-white.  The bright pink bunny in the early picture above surprised me.  (Were they really that pink?  It takes a lot of love, a lot of night cuddles, to wear the color off the skin of a bunny rabbit.)  For tonight she's got both of them in bed with her.

Right before bedtime Isaac pointed out how badly one of his tigers needed a washing, and gathered the cleaner (whiter) one in his arms before hitting the pillow.

The secret is out.